No problem with Conservative-linked appointments to Atlantic agencies: MacKay

TRURO, N.S. – Defence Minister Peter MacKay says there is nothing amiss about people with Tory ties being appointed to high-profile jobs with Atlantic development agencies.

He made the statement Friday during a stop in Truro, N.S., where he was campaigning with the local Tory candidate.

The Conservatives have hired at least 10 people with links to the party for those agencies since they came to power in 2006.

The Public Service Commission of Canada is investigating possible connections between the Conservative government and appointments to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

Possible connections include people tied to the former Nova Scotia Tory government led by John Buchanan, the former P.E.I. Conservative government led by Pat Binns and MacKay, who is seeking re-election in the Nova Scotia riding of Central Nova.

MacKay disputed accusations of patronage and cited the selection process as proof.

“I think they should look at the process: fair, open, transparent, competitive,” he said.

“Should people be barred from applying for public service jobs because they were once political? You couldn’t get anybody.”

In February, Kevin MacAdam, a former Binns cabinet minister and MacKay employee in Ottawa, won the job of director general of regional operations with ACOA in P.E.I.

The job comes with a salary of $110,000-$133,000.

Other connections raising questions include Patrick Dorsey, ACOA’s vice-president for P.E.I. Dorsey was a senior policy adviser to Binns. He was hired in 2007 when MacKay was the minister responsible for the development agency.

Concerns have also been raised about the hiring at Enterprise Cape Breton Corp. of former Tory staffers Rob Maclean, Ken Langley and Allan Murphy.

The Public Service Commission has said it doesn’t have jurisdiction to investigate the corporation.

MacKay said everyone hired or appointed went through a vetting process that required them to compete for their jobs and the decisions were made by ACOA, an arm’s-length group, with no input from government.

“Let’s look at where the complaint came from,” he said when asked if people should be skeptical. “I look at that skeptically.”

The man who sent the letter to the commission outlining the patronage concerns disagrees.

Roger Cuzner, Liberal MP for Cape Breton-Canso, said it’s difficult to believe patronage wasn’t involved in some of the appointments.

“If it walks like a duck and it talks like a duck, it probably has a Conservative connection,” said Cuzner, who is seeking re-election. “There’s no role for political fingerprints in filling (public service) positions.”

Cuzner said more names have been brought to his attention since the investigation was announced but he plans to wait until after the election to forward them because “it would be seen as a political ploy.”